Leo and the Boat In the Flames
by Silvertongue90
Summary: What exactly went through Leo's mind when Aeolus gave him the boat drawing back? This is a one-shot, please read and review.


_**Leo and the Boat In the Flames**_

Today was the first day of Kindergarten for five year old Leo Valdez.

He'd made new friends and had a great time drawing pictures. His teacher exclaimed over them and said they were the best she'd ever seen in her class, making Leo's little heart swell with pride.

He couldn't wait for his mommy to pick him up after school so he could show her his drwaings.

Leo was a little disappointed when he saw that his strange babysitter, Tía Callida stood waiting for him as class let out. "Where's mommy?" he asked in his sweet child voice.

"She is working, my Little Hero," came the reply. "Let's have a picnic today. It's lovely outside."

Tía Callida never asked what he wanted to do. She always told him what to do.

There were some benches behind Leo's apartment complex and they sat down on them. Sandwiches suddenly appeared on the table, but Leo thought nothing of it. Strange things always happened around his babysitter and he had come to expect them.

Tía Callida handed Leo some crayons and a pad of paper when he'd finished eating.

"Draw something, my Little Hero. Pour your entire soul and flames into this drawing and you will see something marvelous, something you will build when you are grown that will help me."

Leo remembered the boat he had seen in the flames when Tía Callida put him to sleep in a flaming cradle in the wall at the age of two.

He could remember each careful detail as if it were etched permanently to his brain by the fire. So, as his babysitter talked of things he did not understand, Leo drew the boat; working with care on the colorful sails, oars, and masthead. He poured his entire soul into the drawing as Tía Callida told him to.

He was about to show her his picture when he remembered his teacher telling him to always sign his name after he drew something. That way everyone would know he had drawn it.

He was just pressing the crayon down on the paper again to write the letter _L_, when a strong gust of wind blew over him and the paper slipped from his chubby fingers. Before he could react the wind carried the picture of the boat high up into the Pecan tree next to them, blowing it farther away across the sky.

Leo blinked away the tears.

He wanted to bury his head in his arms and cry; however, he had learned a long time ago to never cry in front of Tía Callida. She only scolded him and told him little heroes never shed tears.

Leo inhaled sharply as the wet stuff threatened to pool out of his eyes anyway. He had worked so hard on that picture. He was sure his mommy would have been proud of him.

His babysitter clucked in disappointment. "It isn't time yet, Little Hero. Someday you'll have your quest. You'll find your destiny, and your hard journey will finally make sense. First you must face many sorrows. I regret that, but heroes can not be shaped any other way. Now make me a fire, eh? Warm these old bones."

Leo obliged her. His hands lit on fire and he held them out for her.

Tía Callida cackled like a wicked witch. "Feed the flames, my Little Hero," she whispered softly. "Do you feel how alive you are when you feed the flames? Learn the flames well. They are your friend and the source that will help you in your coming quest."

With that she was gone and Leo sat at the table by himself.

He climbed onto the table and set the paper and crayons on fire, watching with child like fascination as the crayons melted, creating an unusual color as they blended together. He placed his flaming hands on the surface and watched as the fire burned his handprints into the picnic table.

That was how his mother found him a several minutes later.

She shrieked and snatched him off the table, extinguishing the fire with her shoe. "Leo! You must be careful!" She brought him into the house and kept hugging him as if afraid something was going to come and take him away from her.

* * *

All this passed through Leo's mind as he took the drawing of the boat away from Aeolus' hands.

What were the odds of him ever finding this picture again? he asked himself.

It certainly shook him up as it brought back a flood of unpleasant, yet confusing memories.

"Leo, what is it?" Jason asked.

"Something I drew when I was a kid," he said hastily, hiding it away in his pocket. "It's…yeah, it's nothing."

He had always been a lousy liar when he was nervous and he was sure Jason and Piper knew he was hiding something from them, but he didn't want to reveal too much of his past to them right now.

He could recall his psychotic babysitter's words as if she had told them to him yesterday. _Your hard journey will finally make sense. First you must face many sorrows._

How much sorrow did a guy need in his life?

Wasn't it bad enough that he was responsible for his mother's death? Didn't running away from foster homes count as enough sorrow, exactly when would everything make sense to him? Did this mean more sorrow was coming?

For a fraction of a second Leo thought about calling it quits and running away to the Bahamas where he could sip those fruit drinks with umbrellas and flirt with the local native girls.

But only for a fraction of a second. He couldn't abandon Jason and Piper. Even if he did feel like the third wheel sometimes.

And what about Hera?

She was counting on him to save her. Though, he wasn't entirely sure if he should save his nutty babysitter. _I have a destiny, _he repeated to himself over and over again. _I have to see it through._


End file.
